| Type: | Family | Name: | Chordin |
| Description: | This entry represents the chordin family. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are expressed during osteogenesis and their action is regulated by corresponding BMP inhibitors. Chordin, a BMP inhibitor, as well as BMP-2, is expressed during osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells. Chordin increases BMP-2 bioavailability. The potential of suppressing BMP inhibitors is emerging as a biological therapeutic target in bone tissue engineering []. During the development of the frog embryo, the scaffold protein Olfactomedin 1 (ONT1) recruits the Tolloid proteases to their substrate Chordin, an antagonist of BMPs. This stabilises the gradient of BMP signalling that is essential for dorso-ventral patterning in the embryo []. This is not only the case in frogs; Crossveinless-2 (Cv2), Twisted Gastrulation (Tsg) and Chordin (Chd) are components of an extracellular biochemical pathway that regulates BMP activity during dorso-ventral patterning of Drosophila embryos, the formation of the fly wing, and mouse skeletogenesis as well []. | Short Name: | Chordin |
